What's your oldest electronic device that you still use?

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John Connor

Lifer
Nov 30, 2012
22,757
619
121
That looks like a featherweight, I have one and have been meaning to sell it when I bought it at a garage sale. They go for big bucks on ebay. Especially the anniversary models.

Oh wow! That is an anniversary model! Sell, sell, sell buddy! Of course if it has sentimental value then keep I guess.
 
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shortylickens

No Lifer
Jul 15, 2003
80,287
17,081
136
I didn't even notice that. I didn't know anyone aside from HP had RPN machines. It's the superior way to calculate. I don't have a single algebraic machine in use, including my computer desktop. I can even type "BOOBS" without needless abstractions :^D

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I had an earlier HP model, it was nice. I wish HP was the standard in school instead of TI.
 

Zorander

Golden Member
Nov 3, 2010
1,143
1
81
Still actively listening to my AKG K340 and Beyerdynamic DT-880 headphones fro mthe 80's (I bought them used only a decade ago though)..
 

ultimatebob

Lifer
Jul 1, 2001
25,134
2,450
126
Probably an old pair of Koss headphones and a Sony AM/FM Cassette Walkman from the early 1990's.

I also have an old Panasonic boombox from the late 80's.

The Koss headphones have a lifetime warranty. I wonder if they would give me any flak if I exchanged them a few years from now :)
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
60,008
10,502
126
I had an earlier HP model, it was nice. I wish HP was the standard in school instead of TI.

It really pissed me off when HP got out of seriously making calculators. I'd pay $1,000 for a 48GX made to modern standards. SD card slots, more ram, faster cpu, and a USB interface is all it needs. I don't even care about color, or a relatively high density display.
 

Chaotic42

Lifer
Jun 15, 2001
34,774
1,950
126
So for those of you using calculators at work, have you tried software solutions such as Sage? I'm just wondering what the use case for these things is in the age of ubiquitous computers.
 

stargazr

Diamond Member
Jun 13, 2010
4,172
3,705
136
So for those of you using calculators at work, have you tried software solutions such as Sage? I'm just wondering what the use case for these things is in the age of ubiquitous computers.

I work in a machine shop, and use a calculator when I'm at a machine. If I'm at a PC studying a model in SolidWorks or Mastercam I just use Windows calculator.
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
60,008
10,502
126
So for those of you using calculators at work, have you tried software solutions such as Sage? I'm just wondering what the use case for these things is in the age of ubiquitous computers.

My use is for the software I run from a rom card. It interfaces with my instrument, and I also use it on the desktop, or truck as the case may be. There's dedicated data collectors and software packages for surveying, but they still aren't as good as the software I use from the early 90s. They're fancier, but not better.

Back when you could still get the HPs in a store, they could be treated as disposable units. You could buy a whole new machine for the price of a repair of dedicated collector. I could break a machine, leave the job to buy a new one, and be back within an hour. That's assuming it wasn't a catastrophic loss. The rom card is what cost the big bucks, but that was well protected in the calculator, and as long as you didn't drop it in a chipper or something, it would be alright. The HP also has the advantage of being a calculator first and foremost. You don't have to remap keys, or go into a specific "program". You can calculate on the stack, then use the results for your program.
 

Jadow

Diamond Member
Feb 12, 2003
5,962
2
0
probably 20+ year old Creative Labs / Cambridge soundworks pc speakers
 

manimal

Lifer
Mar 30, 2007
13,559
8
0
SONY_BVW_65.jpg


forgot I had one of these in storage. Havent had to digitize beta in a while.
Ya Ichinisan it is a adc.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
51,481
7,221
136
Wow, gosh, I dunno. I had a big purge recently & kept very little of my old technology (went a little techno-minimalist haha). At this point, the oldest thing I probably have is my Mitsubishi DLP, lol.
 

shortylickens

No Lifer
Jul 15, 2003
80,287
17,081
136
It really pissed me off when HP got out of seriously making calculators. I'd pay $1,000 for a 48GX made to modern standards. SD card slots, more ram, faster cpu, and a USB interface is all it needs. I don't even care about color, or a relatively high density display.

Umm, you can get a 5 dollar android app for that.
 
Feb 25, 2011
16,992
1,621
126
I have a TI-99/4a under my bed, and a TI-85 I used to take classes last summer. (And next spring, probably too.)
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
60,008
10,502
126
Umm, you can get a 5 dollar android app for that.

I have one free. It was posted earlier in the thread. What it doesn't have is hardware keys. It also doesn't have support from other companies. Useful dedicated devices get picked up by companies, and they expand on it with useful software.
 

ControlD

Diamond Member
Apr 25, 2005
5,440
44
91
I still use my HP28c fairly regularly. I think I bought it back in 1986 at Service Merchandise. I bought a 48SX when I was in engineering school but I still like my 28c better.
 
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Ruptga

Lifer
Aug 3, 2006
10,246
207
106

I had to dig up my 83+ for a math class, it's probably 11 or 12 years old, though of course the design is about twice that and the technology in it is even older. Other than that I'd have to go with an xbox360 which I actually haven't bothered setting up since my last move.
 

Sonikku

Lifer
Jun 23, 2005
15,901
4,927
136
Aside from the cartridge connector, practically every NES is 100% perfect (electronic components and everything). The cartridge connector pins lose springiness over time. You can easily replace the cartridge connector for a few bucks. It slides right off the board and the new connector slides right on.

No special screws or anything. Just Phillips.

They did make a top-loading NES with a better connector, but the video output quality is bad (interference) compared to the original's and it doesn't have composite video output at all.

If you had called up Nintendo at the time and complained about the video connector they'd upgrade it for you. :)
 

mmntech

Lifer
Sep 20, 2007
17,501
12
0
Victrolas, as of the 1990s when I was looking, could be had very reasonably(~$250). I never did get one. I don't really have the extra space, and it would end up just being a dust collector, but they're super cool things.

As it stands, I have about 35Gb ripped 78s; all "pirated" of course. Fuckers... The material is from the weasel lawyer's grandparent's day, but still under copyright. Proof that the government hasn't worked for the people in decades :^S

Good old copyright extension act. You can thank the Disney Corporation for that nonsense.

Don't think I've ever seen a 78 in the wild. A lot of that stuff got sold off when my grandparents came to Canada.

Back before electronic amplification, performers used to have to cluster around a big horn and sing/play loudly to cut the masters. I remember hearing a story about Louis Armstrong having to be confined to the back of the room. His cornet playing was so loud, he'd drown out the rest of the band. No autotune or mixing back then. What was heard in studio was what you got at home, more or less.